Joe DiMaggio's Epic Hit Streak

On May 15, 1941, in an otherwise forgettable 13-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees center fielder Joe DiMaggio singled in four at-bats. The 9,040 fans at Yankee Stadium likely hardly took notice — and it’s almost certain that no one in the sparse crowd left the ballpark that day knowing they had just seen the start of something momentous.

The game marked the beginning of DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak, which lasted through mid-July and set a major league record that has hardly been threatened in the 70 years since. DiMaggio was a baseball star before the streak began — by its end just over two months later, he was an American legend.